Star
by Dzuljeta
Summary: Martha, Donna and Jack all come to meet the Doctor, hoping to cheer him up at least a little bit. However, he would have none of it. Meanwhile, the TARDIS has her own plans to bring back the only one who can truly take his gloom away. Ten/Rose.
1. Star: Chapter One

_A/N. Why no article in the title? Because it was necessary to keep the name similar to the other two. :) Why not in plural? Because. As the title is similar to both _Stuck _and _Stay_, so should be the atmosphere of the story. :) Some angst could not be avoided, but I won't keep it for long, 'kay? The two female companions (and Jack, for good measure) are there for a reason. Can't promise they will be in the story for long, but they are now. Oh, and it's Rose Tyler's birthday today. Really._

* * *

**Disclaimer: Everything** **_Doctor Who_ belongs to the BBC.**

**Star: Chapter One**

Broken. That was how Rose had been feeling when her friends and family had kept on assuring her that letting go of the miraculous adventure was for the better. While the girl has learnt relatively soon it was better to appear strong to the outside world, she knew well that she could never forget neither those days with their incredible adventures nor the Doctor and the way he had been smiling at her. The time spent with him had made her believe her existence could be of use. Of use not only to her family and friends, but to the world.

And when one day people from Torchwood presented her with a possibility to contact the Doctor again, Rose clung to it wildly.

Rose's mother was against it – has been ever since her daughter had revealed her plans to her. The dimension cannon was a mysterious, crazy idea doomed to fail, or so it seemed to her. "You cannot break the world apart simply because you want to see him!" _The world – possibly not. Multiple universes – very likely._ Although Rose knew she should probably just let the idea go, there was this assurance in her that she was able to do much more than they could imagine.

"And you can't know – maybe he's found someone else…"

The very tone in which Jackie said it felt blasphemous. "I _hope_ he has," Rose snapped, never mentioning the idea again for months.

The tears of sorrow became tears of hope, never leaving her mind even when some of the plans seemed to have failed. Rose armed herself with patience and determination. These seemed to be the sole things that kept her going… Until the TARDIS has called her for the first time.

These were strange, the dreams where the TARDIS was calling her. Softly, yet persistently. With a song. A Gallifreyan song, which she could not understand literally, yet somehow knew exactly what it meant. She was needed there, on the other side. Ignoring those was of no use. It was much easier, and much more pleasant to simply wait for the night and sleep to come again.

The same song, always equally inviting, welcoming… and desperate. All Rose needed now was to find a way back… hopefully, much sooner than the dimension cannon got constructed. There was but one way Rose could think of, so she addressed the TARDIS in her sleep. _Help me. Tell me what to do. Do I stay patient and keep helping them with the dimension cannon? Is there any other way?_

Never losing hope, the young Tyler girl kept repeating the same questions every night, imagining the Doctor's ship was considering the possibilities. And then, some days before her twenty-fourth birthday – was it really possible so much time has passed - Rose saw it. A way to reach him. So many days, weeks, months, years wasted… she wouldn't waste a moment more. All she had to do was wait for the day to actually arrive. It was her birthday – which meant Rose was the only one allowed to cross the void. She had to head for Cardiff for that, but that was never a problem.

"I will find my way back to you, Doctor." Rose whispered, throwing one last glance at the calendar. The day has come, never to return again… and the young woman knew she was ready to do anything. Leave everything, everyone behind her. Only to meet the Doctor again and this time stay with him. Forever.

"What do you mean, goodbye?" Jackie was terrified.

"I'm sorry, Mum." Rose sighed. It might very well turn out a very bad decision… But she had made up her mind long ago.

"It's impossible, Rose! You two can never meet again! You yourself told us there was no way!" Jackie tried to stop her. "Your actions… plans… That's just beyond understanding!"

"Yes, it is. This entire world is. Your persistence to keep me away from it is useless, Mum."

During the years away from the Doctor, the young woman has learnt the only person in this universe whom she could undoubtedly trust was herself.

"But you might die!"

_Oh._ Rose really hated talking about this, but saw no alternatives. "I am already dead, remember? None of this is supposed to exist," she tried her best not to burst out in tears once again. "The real, the original Rose Tyler is dead."

"The original Pete is also dead," her father came out of the blue. "Allow our Rose choose the way, Jackie. This is her day."

"What if we never see her again?"

Her dad shrugged. "At least we wouldn't be carrying the sin of breaking down her life."

"Breaking down her life? What nonsense are you talking about? It's about _saving_ her life! Just when I think you are the one fully reasonable, you show your real face!"

Rose came out of the room quietly. She did not intend to listen to quarrels of those she loved so much. Why couldn't her mum understand? The Doctor was everything for her. Even the thought of missing the one possibility was painful. Primarily having wanted to scribble a goodbye letter, the young Tyler thought better. She could not allow herself to cry. As selfish as it felt, Rose left but a short note on the table, "I'm so sorry" being the greater part of it… and left.

_Cardiff it is._

* * *

"I still don't know what you're doing here."

"Are you always this grumpy whenever you are about to get involved in mundane activities?" Jack teased, meeting a crushing look from the Doctor. He might have expected a grimace, a glare, but not that kind of reaction.

"It's her birthday today," The Doctor muttered, refusing to look at the man. "I need some time for myself." The Gallifreyan suppressed a sigh, knowing he should have been happy about having three companions of his coming to cheer him up… But that was not what he needed. There was a good reason why he refused to take anyone else with him now.

Jack noticed that - for a brief moment – the Time Lord seemed utterly broken. The conversation was doomed to end before it began. "Sorry about that." He decided to shuffle off the blame of Martha, Donna and himself all being in the TARDIS onto mere coincidence. Some things were better left alone. And the subject of Rose Tyler was _always_ better left alone. How on earth could they have known that this day happened to be Rose's birthday?

"What about we leave you alone for a while and go shopping? You said you needed something? Groceries?"

"What, all three of you?" The Time Lord grimaced.

"Problem?"

Of course that wasn't a problem. They merely tried to be helpful. Jack did, at least. "No."

The man shuddered, the look in the Doctor's dark eyes implying anything but agreement. "We can stay here, if you like."

"Yes."

"Someone still needs to do the shopping," Jack shrugged, hoping to at least see a trace of grin on his face. No such luck.

"Listen. As intended, I'll bring the necessary things. The three of you, whom I _don't remember inviting_," the Doctor grunted, "stay here and wait for me."

"Not a very nice way to treat your guests, eh?"

The Time Lord glared at him. "My TARDIS, my rules. You should be happy I didn't kick you lot out." Of course, he should be thankful for some company. But he needed to get away from everyone, or lose himself in a crowd of plain, annoying, tiring human beings, where nobody cared.

"I'll be back soon." _Or not. _The Doctor waved them all goodbye and left, making sure nobody was following him.

* * *

"Hello," Rose threw a quick look around the console room. Hardly anything has changed, it seemed. No, there were changes. She noticed three people were gaping at her, apparently too stunned to speak. Two women, neither of whom she recognised… And Jack (alive and well, it seemed – she chose to put the questioning away for some other time).

No sign of the Doctor. Rose knew none of the terrifying scenarios she'd been imagining in her head were actually true, but asked anyway.

"Not too late, am I?"

Jack sent her a flirtatious look, his mind filled with various reasons for her unexpected appearance in the TARDIS, today of all days. He had always hoped she would warn someone about her arrival. The fact she had most certainly been in another dimension was a different thing entirely, but he was not the Doctor and never wasted too much of his time thinking about things he was not fully sure about. What Jack _was_ sure about was that Rose Tyler has just stepped through the door. "Late for what, my beautiful thing?"

Rose grinned, surprised he asked, but the look she sent him was both terrified and pleading. While she could remember Sarah Jane and assumed the Doctor had not spoken about her to anyone – possibly not even once – she felt safer not having the women know her name.

Before the man had the chance to speak again, she put a finger to her lips.

"Jack! So nice to see you again, and with company," she spoke gleefully, her eyes never leaving his. Luckily, one of the women, the ginger one, spoke, breaking the tension.

"I'm sorry, but – who are you?"

"I'm looking for the Doctor," Rose said, unwilling to give away her identity before she knew she could trust them. Jack, yes. Both of the women seemed (and should have been, she understood) interested in her. The blonde hoped the one flirting with everybody could keep his mouth shut.

"Was that why you came? To see him?" Jack ignored both Martha and Donna, smiling at the blonde encouragingly.

Rose nodded. "Is he- is he all right?"

"Not by his standards," Donna joined the conversation. Apparently, if the very attractive and very, very untrustworthy Jack Harkness knew the woman and did not shoot her on sight (the Doctor was not there to look after him, after all), there was nothing to worry about.

The questioning look on Rose's face made Donna snort. "I don't know who you are, but, as it might be known to you, he hates being sent away to refill the food supplies."

Rose tried hard not to burst out laughing. "Not a nice experience for someone who hates anything domestic," she agreed.

Martha addressed Jack. "Will you introduce us?"

"R-" The blonde sent him a pleading look, which was understood. "Right. These two dazzling women are, or have been at some time, different time, as it turns out, the Doctor's companions." Rose was listening, her eyes wide, but said nothing. Her mind was connecting the dots for her. Could it be true the Doctor found new companions so soon? Making simple calculations in her head, she counted the approximate amount of time the Time Lord must have spent with them – without her. So soon… Too soon, but maybe that was only her problem. Rose sighed.

"After you, that is," the charmer assured her with a small smile. "But never quite like you. I'm sure the Doctor will be very pleasantly surprised. And he wasn't really _sent_ to buy anything, you know. I wouldn't be surprised if he returned empty-handed…"

"Jack, keep to what you began," Donna glared at him. As handsome as the man was, he could be persistently annoying.

"My bad, with so many beautiful ladies around me…" he winked, receiving disapproving glares from all three of them.

"So, as I was saying. This," he motioned at Martha, who waved at Rose uncertainly, "is Martha Jones. She's famous for- what are you famous for again, Martha?" The girl shook her head. Apparently, Jack was never going to stop flirting, with her or with anybody. "For resisting your charms," she muttered.

"Right," he smirked at Rose, who was still trying to accept the fact so much has happened since she was away. _New companions… New life. Maybe even a better one. _

"So… As the Doctor's companion, Martha's famous for saving the world. Multiple times. Donna Noble – and trust me when I say her last name does not always correspond with her behaviour – is famous for…"

"For the very same thing. Shut up and introduce her to us?" Donna was running out of patience. So was Martha. "If you two are so against letting us know who you are," the dark-skinned woman spoke, apparently not ready to trust the blonde girl, "what makes you believe we think you're trustworthy?"

"Nothing." Rose peered at her, able to see why the Doctor chose to take this Martha up as a companion. The one known as Donna was smiling at her sadly, possibly knowing more than she was showing. She could read the pain in her eyes – the alien hardly ever mentioned his previous companions, except for one...

"Three of you, in the TARDIS, without the Doctor…" Rose spoke, afraid of the possible outcome of the Doctor being on his own. Knowing him, a simple shopping trip could become a tragedy. "Are you sure this was a good idea?"

The man did not answer her question. All of a sudden, he noticed how _sad_ her eyes were, no matter the grin. "The Doctor should be here any second now."

"Yeah…"

It had to be bad luck. She had given herself blindly to the idea of meeting the Doctor again, whatever the cost. All she had wanted was come in and see him… remind him of their _forever_. As friends, if the Doctor could not take their relationship any other way.

All she wanted now was the unwelcome doubts to go away. Teeth clenched, eyes wide, thoughts mingled, Rose was uselessly trying to concentrate. She had done it. Had found a way to his universe. Had found his TARDIS without so much as intentionally looking for it…

Just then, the TARDIS door opened.

The two bags the Doctor had been carrying fell down to the floor.

_Rose._

* * *

_A/N. Three is a nice number. :) In a lot of senses. Trilogy is a nice word, too. Of course, I'm not stopping with my DW fics. Just maybe no more __**St**__-ories. _

_Your reviews are always welcome! :) If the story feels kind of rushed... it was.  
_


	2. Star: Chapter Two

_A/N. Thank you for your reviews, favourites and follows! :) :3_

_It can't be you weren't expecting for this to happen? To tell you the truth, I had at least six different versions of this… some of them darker. Still. Might use some things from those unposted bits in some of my upcoming fics, yes? :)_

* * *

**Star: Chapter Two**

"The Doctor has been kind of glum these days," Martha warned Rose. "Just so you know, in case he starts behaving inappropriately…"

"Doesn't he always?" Donna countered with a snort. Jack but sent the blonde an assuring look, uncertain if she was even paying attention to anything else but the Doctor, who was watching her incredulously, completely dazed. _That's impossible, completely impossible__!_

"I think I should go meet him," Rose found her tongue.

"No, you won't," Jack stopped her, grabbing her hand. The last thing they needed was a mutual nervous breakdown. While her feelings were not openly visible – she must have learnt to control herself well, maybe from the precious Doctor himself, Jack guessed – the Captain was still unwilling to risk it. "_He_ will come to you."

And indeed, the Doctor did, his incredulity disappearing as soon as his blonde companion sent him her admirable grin, never turning her hazel eyes away from his.

_Rose Rose Rose Rose ROSE ROSE! _

It seemed the time has stopped. Without thinking, he was by her side in what was no more than three seconds.

The Tyler girl was afraid to close her eyes and lose but one moment of having the Doctor so close to her, again. She could feel her feet grow weak. It was him, really, undeniably _him_! "Doctor," she managed to whisper.

"But you-" The incredulous alien took a deep breath. "This is… impossible. You _cannot_ be here."

The blonde felt her knees tremble. "We love the impossible, right, Doctor?"

He grinned, as Rose clung to him without as much as one conscious thought, seemingly for support more than anything else. There she was, falling victim to some things impossible to control - not at that moment, anyway. _So much of a good impression. _

Rose hurried to speak, unable to control the blush now spreading on her face. "Sorry, this wasn't-"

"No need to apologise," the Doctor assured her, smirking at her. "Least of all to me. Oh, and hello!" _Missed you so much. So, so much. _The Doctor lowered his voice, aware of those watching them. _Rose_. "Why are Martha and Donna looking at you so? Haven't you or hasn't Jack introduced you yet?"

The Londoner looked at him sharply. "No, I thought-"

"You thought of Sarah Jane, haven't you…? However, I _have_ spoken of you. Very often, actually..."

Rose's eyes lit up, but she had no chance to say anything more, as the Doctor grinned – the blonde was not sure at whom the grin was directed, as soon he wasn't facing her any more.

The Time Lord seemed to have been considering something for a long moment. Letting go of Rose was out of the question, but addressing the others with his arms still wrapped around her protectively felt wrong. Unacceptable for some, even. _Stupid humans and their decorum. _He mused, unwillingly separating himself from her, only their hands still connected.

The Doctor turned towards the three humans, a small smile playing on his lips. "You two still don't know who she is, then?"

Donna rolled her eyes. She was more and more certain about the blonde's identity every passing moment. _They look like they're about to drown in each other, heavens! _She smirked. Watching the Doctor truly happy was always pleasant. Apparently, the blonde girl thought so too, her eyes never leaving his.

"I have an inkling," she muttered. Of course. This had to be her. Rose. Nevertheless, she kept her thoughts to herself.

The Gallifreyan purposefully ignored her, suddenly excited, turning back at Rose. "Imagine how much fun I could have with the guess-who-she-is!"

"No," the woman placed her hand on his. He was still too agitated. So was she, but getting involved in something as pointless as this seemed wrong.

"Yes, sorry," he muttered. "I just-"

She grinned at him, not feeling like saying anything.

"Before I learn you are but an illusion, Rose Tyler," the Doctor whispered, looking at her mischievously and appreciating the fact Rose was the one holding on to him again, relieved his attention was again fully hers. Nevertheless, he did not finish the sentence, seemingly having lost the thread of some Rose-related thought.

Her eyes grew wide at his words, but she only giggled. "An illusion means you can do whatever you want with it - what about you wrap your arms around me even stronger, for a start?"

The Time Lord smirked at her oh-so-successful attempt at flirting with him. Everything, from the look in her eyes to her unmistakable scent – oh, gods, how could he ever have forgotten this – screamed it _was _her.

"Rose. How exactly-"

"Nobody was harmed in the process, I assure you, Doctor. Not physically, anyway. I, um… performed some magical dimension-jumping on a magical day." She grinned.

He did not know who had presented her with such a possibility, one long forgotten… But was ready to keep thanking to whoever it was for the rest of his life.

"Dimension-jumping can get awfully complicated, Rose. Are you okay?"

"Oh… it wasn't complicated. Although… the process was kind of dread-inducing, I admit. But it was brief, and ended well." Her eyes were sparkling, a trace of teasing remaining in them. "And yes, I am."

The Doctor eyed her searchingly, understanding what he needed the most. Not the artificial side-knowledge about her travel. The Time Lord needed her smile. Her warmth. Her human chatter. Her touch. Her smell. Her love. Only this time, he was not ashamed to admit it to himself – was even ready to admit it to Rose.

"I _need_ you. Desperately need you, Rose Tyler. Just- just tell me you won't fade away this time?"

She breathed out, never letting go of the Time Lord. Wasn't it him who had_ literally_ faded away the last time? "I don't intend to, no."

"What _do_ you intend to do?" The Doctor's hopeful look pierced hers.

"Stay?" Her self-assurance was visible. And Rose was _still_ in his arms. It was a miracle. _She _was a miracle.

_Yes! _"Rose…"

The Doctor pulled her into a hug, his words still audible only to her. "Rose…. my Rose. You aren't going to get away from me this time," he warned her.

As if she'd ever had such an intention. "Hopefully," she managed to breathe out.

"If you won't stop me, I'm going to kiss you right now," he whispered, his voice even quieter than before. It seemed the Time Lord was not waiting for a response.

"Okay," Rose giggled, not expecting for anything other than a quick friendly peck on the cheek... still.

"If you're against it-"

"Absolutely not, my Doctor." If it had taken him so long to come to this… "You could have offered this to me all these years ago," she winked at him.

The Doctor knew she was right, but merely smirked at her. This was not the right time to recall all of the things he hadn't done. "Yep. Should have, too."

Without wasting a moment, he began kissing her, pleasantly surprised she responded with equal ferocity. Nothing around them mattered any more, hands wrapped tightly around each other, the kiss, long yearned for, ending up as a slow and leisured research more than an outbreak of suppressed feelings. This, however, felt more true and promising than any other, more passionate variation of kissing that they both knew was to come, maybe not immediately, maybe not today… And certainly not with an audience, however approving. Still, the Doctor did not seem to have fully registered the fact Rose and him were not, in fact, alone in the console room. Rose, even if she had, was unwilling to break the kiss, soft and slow as it was.

Jack was following the scene of what looked like a very timid attempt of snogging with a smug grin on his face. Donna simply stood there, shaking her head in disbelief, unsure if she should be annoyed or simply allow the two have their way of expressing what seemed like long years of things unsaid poured into that one kiss. _Drowning in one another, quite right._ Martha left the room, unable to take this inexplicable behaviour from someone she adored, even if she had long lost every hope of him loving her.

The ginger one was the first out of the two remaining spectators to lose patience, and coughed meaningfully."

"What?"

The Doctor moved away from the Tyler girl, not without visible displeasure, which but made Donna send the two a meaningful look. Nevertheless, the ginger woman seemed amused. Rose buried her face, now flushed, into the Doctor's jacket.

"Now, now..." Jack grinned, his look approving. "This is not something you should be ashamed of. You two were positively the best thing that has ever happened in front of my eyes. Well, not _ever_, but you get the picture," the Captain rolled his eyes.

The Doctor grimaced, Rose's hand safely in his. "We have heard your stories about this, multiple times, remember?"

"Not all of them!" Jack raised an eyebrow, making Rose giggle.

Donna glared at the Captain. "Shut up, Harkness. Rose?"

The blonde grinned, pleasantly surprised. "You know me, then?"

"Was pretty sure since I heard you mention his name for the first time," she smiled softly at her. "And the look in your eyes…" _All the pain. Longing. Sorrow. So similar to his._

The blonde looked around the room. "Where's Martha?"

Donna rolled her eyes. "Oh, you know… not everybody is as used to this amount of spontaneous kissing as some of us are. Right, Jack?"

The Captain shrugged. "She could have had other reasons," he smirked meaningfully at the Doctor, who rolled his eyes at him. "Martha Jones might have just lost a great deal of respect she might have felt for you, Doc. Should I go find her?"

"I can do it," Donna offered. "Just… you two, try to keep your hands off each other. We wouldn't want to frighten the poor girl further, yes?"

Rose nodded. "Certainly not."

"Just so you know, Rose," Jack spoke, not wishing for the silence to become uncomfortable, "they both know just how important you have been in his life. As for Martha – she seemed to have had a crush on the Doctor," he smirked. "But – he was too daft to ever notice her uncertain advances."

"And that's about enough she needs to know," the Time Lord glared at him.

"Of course it is. All he cared about was a certain Rose Tyler on a parallel universe. One he was certain to have lost forever."

Rose smiled at the Gallifreyan encouragingly. "Your Rose Tyler is back now. For as long as you'd have her."

Jack gave a chuckle. "How does _forever_ sound? I could see about that."

Knowing the Captain, he might have spilled his dark secret about immortality out, just like that. He did not, though. The Doctor, forgetting the implied promise Rose had given Donna, wrapped his arms around her, causing a smug grin to appear on Jack's face.

There was no time to contemplate or discuss anything, as Donna and Martha returned.

'"Hello again," the dark-skinned woman addressed Rose with unmistakable distrust both seen in her eyes and heard in her voice. "Donna said you had something to tell us?"

The ginger woman scowled at them. Apparently, some basic rules were non-existent for these two. "Are you lovebirds done yet?" It seemed Rose was holding him shamelessly close – or was it the Doctor's fault?

"Just a break, yeah? Before you restart..." Martha seemed uneasy and tired of things unsaid.

"She is my plus one," the Doctor decided to help his blonde companion word what she was about to say. That hardly helped, but Rose sent the Time Lord a thankful look anyway.

"Before you start having ideas… My name is Rose. Rose Tyler, at your service."

Martha smiled uncomfortably, not quite ready to believe it, yet aware there was no reason for her to lie about such a thing. "Rose. The Doctor's Rose. This explains a lot. Nice to finally meet you, Rose." The woman wasn't lying. The childish – as they seemed now – feelings for the incredible alien appeared to have disappeared completely during the years.

"There's just one thing. Could you please delay the kissing, or at least warn us before-"

"Certainly," the Doctor said, never moving one millimetre further from the blonde human. But they weren't kissing, therefore…

"Apparently, these two are unable to stay away from each other for long," Donna noted. "Is this normal for them?"

"After everything they've been through… yeah, pretty much." The Captain appeared more than happy to provide Donna with information about those so unimaginably in love it was starting to get uncomfortable.

"And the kissing?"

"Here and there, this and that… The usual." _Running here and there. Discovering this and that. No time or enough resolve for kissing. The usual._

"Would you shut up, Jack!" The blonde girl sent the Gallifreyan a disbelieving look, enough for him to realise the immortal human hadn't said anything unacceptable.

This but encouraged Harkness to continue speaking. "Ah. Keeping away from kissing Rose again is becoming a tedious task?"

"Know your limits, Jack." For a moment, the Doctor resembled his previous incarnation in his rude manner of speech.

Strangely, this was enough to keep the ex-Time Agent silent for more than three minutes, during which time the Time Lord and his fair-haired companion have once again switched to holding hands. What else could be done, with so many people around them? The TARDIS hummed encouragingly.

"Now that we're all clear," Jack interrupted what was about to become heavy silence, "I think we should celebrate."

"Celebrate what?"

"The fact that Rose is back. Just in time, too."

"In time for what?" The blonde was unwilling to make guesses.

"For celebrating having our Doctor back to his senses, you'd think?" Donna came back to her usual sarcastic tone. "Might be."

"No," Jack spoke. He knew the Time Lord was going to hate him for this, but he did not intend to stay there long, anyway. "We're all here to take away the Doctor's pitiful mental state."

"My _what_? Oh. That. Not a problem any more," he planted a kiss on the hand he was holding.

Rose did not seem to understand. The Doctor might have seemed a little bit confused. And dazed at first, obviously… Not much else… But then again, she was not certain about herself.

"Can I help?"

You have," Donna assured her, smiling. If Rose was at least half as good as the Doctor had been picturing her – they were going to be okay. Brilliantly so. Both of them.

"Because... because I came back?" the girl guessed incredulously, squeezing the Time Lord's hand.

"Yes," Jack winked at her. "He shouldn't be sad ever again now that you've snogged his sorrow out of him." The girl glared at him. Still, knowing him, she did not take his words into deep consideration. Besides, the Time Lord seemed distracted. And he should not have been…

"Doctor?" Rose addressed him softly. No words from him frightened her as much as his contemplative silence.

He grinned at her, but said nothing. It was so good to simply have his Rose so close to him.

"Oh, Doc... You seem to have forgotten Rose's birthday is today, eh?" They _were_ going to have the party… one way or another.

The girl sighed dramatically, having sent a panicked glance at the Doctor. All of a sudden, they were in the centre of attention again.

* * *

_A/N. Thank you for reading, and please let me know what you think! :)_


	3. Star: Chapter Three

_A/N. Thank you all for the reviews, favourites and follows! :3 Would you be so kind as to keep them coming? :)_

* * *

**Star: Chapter Three**

The Doctor sent Rose an assuring look. No matter what she had had to go through, he was ready to make sure nothing so much as makes her uncomfortable on this day. "Happy birthday, Rose."

She smirked at him, looking uncertain. "You do remember?"

"How could I forget?" the Time Lord returned the smirk. It felt so good to have his blonde companion with him again. Even more so at that moment, when her gaze – soft, warm, trusting… and bursting with feeling no other than undeniable love – was meant only for him. It even scared the Doctor a little. A human falling for a Time Lord was, in fact, not an uncommon occurrence. A Time Lord in love with a human was not unheard of, but a thing deeply opprobrious in the Gallifreyan society. Gallifrey was no more, and Rose, the most human of them all, has taken the opportunity to cross dimensions, having risked everything… just to be with him again.

"The Time Lord himself was the one telling me what day this was," Jack sent Rose a wink, seemingly having chosen to ignore the glare sent his way by the Doctor.

The blonde gave the Captain a small smile, conscious of the four pairs of eyes watching her intently, and turning back towards the Gallifreyan. "Of course. Of course you remember, you always have," Rose whispered at him softly, knowing he was able to hear her perfectly, unlike the others.

"Ahem. I'm bound to remind you that there are three more people on the TARDIS," Donna noted out loud. "And we don't necessarily tolerate the two of you forgetting we exist," she averted her eyes, realising neither the Doctor nor Rose have paid any attention to what she'd said.

Martha shrugged, sending the ginger a disapproving stare. It felt wrong to take a single moment of reunion happiness from the two so soon. From her experience alone, trouble was never far away from the Doctor and whoever travelled with him – it was obvious they would not get away from it as soon as they resumed their travels together. Apparently, the Captain shared her views on the matter. This encouraged her. "We'll manage on our own for now, won't we, Jack?"

The immortal one looked everybody over, a huge grin on his face, understanding the look the someday-to-be-doctor- or was she, already? – Jack wondered – gave him. "Was someone saying something about a party?"

Donna rolled her eyes at the scene before her. "Clearly. It was _your_ idea, Jack."

He sneered. "Obviously. I am always the one with the best ideas… ask anyone!"

"Do something about the party, will you?" the ginger woman sent him an intense look. "Oh, wait! Martha has already begun to work on it," she eyed the girl with appreciation.

The dark-skinned companion stopped looking over and taking out the contents of the shopping bags, her eyes wide with surprise. "Whoa, Doctor! Do you eat all of this daily?"

The Doctor eyed her incredulously. It was as if she had no memories of their menus back when she had been travelling with him. _Humans and their ideas…_ "Why would I?"

Donna smirked at Martha knowingly, choosing to pretend to not have noticed the discomfort clearly visible in the eyes of the one having caused the flurry.

"Is something wrong?" the Time Lord seemed to have fully regained his senses just then, half watching Rose moving away from him and joining the others. "Have I missed something? Was sort of lost in thought-"

"I didn't think you'd be so well-prepared for something like this," Martha said, continuing with removing the groceries out of the bags, before the Doctor motioned for her to stop. No one could take care of what he'd brought as well as the TARDIS. "It's as if you intended to celebrate Rose's birthday on your own."

_Who says I didn't?_ "Well… I might have," he admitted, grinning sheepishly at the one eying him incredulously and trying to suppress the wish to grin back at him. "I always have my ship to keep me company," he added nonchalantly.

The Tyler girl took a deep breath, before returning to again find herself in the Doctor's embrace, just because she could. "Now there's me," Rose muttered.

"Yep. There's us."

The Captain rolled his eyes at them. "I think we should lock you two up in some room," Jack smirked, winking suggestively.

"Not with you on board, Jack Harkness," the Doctor glared at him, shrugging at Rose, who was visibly amused watching the two. Some things never changed…

"Really, though. Find the time and place," the blonde chided both of them playfully, earning looks of respect from both Donna and Martha. "Or are they like this all the time, in which case, I hadn't really missed much?"

"Surely, Rose Tyler, you did not mean to include me in the company of this sickening-" The Time Lord rolled his eyes at the Captain, either not noticing or ignoring her attempts to keep back her laughter.

"Sickeningly handsome and absolutely irresistible Captain Jack Harkness. I think you should be flattered, Doc," Jack teased him, fluttering his eyelashes at the women.

The Tyler girl groaned inwardly. "As a matter of fact, you can be quite a flirt when you want to, Doctor," Rose paid no attention to Jack, which surprised no one. "As for you," she gazed at the Gallifreyan, her look hopeful and… desperate – "we need to talk."

_To talk? What about? Where would we even begin?_

Seeing his uncertainty, Rose sighed. "Shouldn't take long. I promise. But first things first. This Don Juan needs to be taken care of-"

A worried, yet disapproving look sent towards Jack worked like magic. "Please, if you could prevent him from stalking somehow," the blonde re-worded her request. Donna nodded conspiratorially. "Consider it done."

"Talk. Yes, talk… Talk, we need to talk, Rose and I," the Doctor spoke, completely flustered. "See you guys later!" The Gallifreyan gave them all a blinding grin, grabbing Rose by the hand and allowing the TARDIS lead the way.

"Where are we going?"

"Only she knows now," the Doctor smirked at the blonde.

"Okay!" Rose grinned back at him. "But we _will_ talk first."

"Anything you want, _Rose Tyler_," he pressed her hand. _Anything_.

The remaining trip through endless corridors was spent in silence, although the occasional looks they shared spoke better than words. Realising she had allowed herself sink in painful memories, Rose shook her head, meeting a worried look. Instead of saying anything, she looked around her. All corridors and doors seemed identical to her – she could not remember having ever so much as crossed the place.

"So… _where_ are we going, exactly?"

"Where are we, you mean? No idea, sorry. Haven't been led by the TARDIS ever since- you know when," the Time Lord smirked at her, happy to see a grin spreading across her face.

"Hopefully it's for a good cause," Rose looked upwards with a smile.

"My ship does enjoy a good conspiracy," he winked at her. As if on cue, the TARDIS shoved them into one of the rooms. A table, two chairs, a bed, a small cupboard, and a bookcase. The blonde but eyed the surroundings incredulously. "Does this- has this room belonged to some companion of yours?"

"No, absolutely not. Have not seen it in my life. That doesn't mean I keep randomly entering my companions' chambers, mind you-"

"Okay…" Rose sounded strangely relieved.

The Doctor shrugged, painting a Gallifreyan symbol on the dusty table top with his finger. "Doesn't look lived-in, does it?"

"Nope," the Londoner agreed with a smirk. "As long as we don't suffocate in the dust, all is well."

The Time Lord smiled at her encouragingly. He could imagine the state of her room – if not for the TARDIS – would not be much different, considering the little time they had spent on the time and space ship. "On with the chat, yes?"

"Yes." All of a sudden, Rose's face fell, every trace of her usual gleefulness out of sight.

"Let me guess, Rose. You had found a new love interest? In which case, I would-" It was obvious the Doctor was teasing her.

She laughed bitterly. "Heaven forbid."

"Why do you look so worried, then? Surely, you do know I'll do everything to protect you-"

"Everything in your power, Doctor. Yes. I believe you and trust you completely. _Much more than any sensible being would_. But there are things-"

"What things? Rose?"

She sighed heavily, aware it would be harder if the large wooden table wasn't standing between them. "Do you know why exactly has the TARDIS called me back?"

The Doctor stared at her, his mouth slightly open in surprise. "She has?"

Rose averted her eyes. "You didn't know?"

"No, but then again, I might have overdone the blocking of her signals… Sorry?"

She gaped at him, intrigued. For all she knew, his sentient ship was the one thing that mattered to the Doctor the most in the entire multiverse. "Why would you block her?" _Why would you even consider it?_

"It's complicated."

"Doctor." It was obvious to the Time Lord the girl did not intend to allow him get away with it.

"She had been doing everything to fill my mind with thoughts not related to you."

"Yeah?"

"Let's just say, Rose Tyler… she had not succeeded."

The young woman was stupefied at this revelation. "Was it because you chose to prevent the TARDIS from sending you some pleasant things to think about? Or because you preferred being depressed over seeing the joy in life?" _Because it felt like the only right thing._ Rose shuddered, knowing she was no better.

"Are you all right?" the Time Lord asked, believing to have seen tears forming in her eyes.

"Yeah," she smiled. "You should be glad I hadn't thought of pushing the TARDIS' mind away, ever. Wouldn't have done it, even if given the chance," the young woman eyed the Doctor understandingly, a sad expression on her face.

"You should never be sad on days like this, Rose," his voice was almost pleading. If there was one thing the Doctor could never misread, it was her raw feelings and emotions.

"You know it's not always possible, Doctor."

"I know," he said. "This damn table keeps me from getting to touch you," the Time Lord rolled his eyes at her playfully, intentionally changing the subject.

"You can always push it away," she shrugged, certain there was a reason they'd been driven towards this particular chamber. "But I'd like to return to the main point first, please."

"Which is?"

"Everything. The good things… and the bad things. Pete's World. Torchwood. You. Me. Bad Wolf." Rose nearly choked at the last two words, not having realised she'd begun to cry.

This was enough for the Doctor to find himself by her side the next moment, furniture be damned. Every last trace of Gallifreyan moral code and rules he had been forcing on himself has been wiped away by the sorrowful look in those hazel eyes. "Do you want me to do anything?"

She breathed in. "Just… talk to me?"

He did not feel like talking, but it was clear some of his adventures with Martha or Donna would cheer her up, and that was what Rose needed more than recalling the sad episodes of her past in that other universe.

"Let's see… I could tell you of some of the notable figures I've met… Dickens, Shakespeare, Agatha Christie… quite the lot, I'll have you know!

Rose gave him a searching look.

"Well… you know what Charles is like, of course," the Gallifreyan added, grinning.

"And you are so not full of yourself about having met them, Doctor," she smirked, glad to learn hardly anything had changed between them. "Don't you dare to boast about having met Queen Victoria. _Or that French courtesan._ As a matter of fact, I'd been there too," Rose rolled her eyes at him.

"Never," he teased. "You can't say werewolves weren't fun?"

She gaped at him, incredulous.

"Not a little bit?"

"It's not that. I simply- can't say I like hearing it from you."

"I'm sorry!"

"No. It's all right. Just avoid anything related to-"

_Bad Wolf. _The two words were haunting her still, always there to hit her memory.

The Doctor knew he'd have to return to the subject someday, but it could wait. "Of course," he found her hand. With the table out of the way, the simple gesture was a welcome and much-needed relief of tension.

"You're really back this time," he whispered, in need of reassurance. "Properly back. And you're not going anywhere. Yes?"

"Yes."

"Good! _Allons-y_?"

Rose pushed away the wish to glare at him, pressing his hand. "You keep using that one."

"Yes!" He giggled excitedly, not having registered a momentary shadow on her face. "It's very useful, actually!"

She grinned at him. "So, where are we going?"

"To… Wait, I have no idea." The alien's eyes lit up the next instant, as he pointed to the door neither of them had noticed before. "See this door? Let's go and see where it leads, shall we?"

This was what Rose had missed so badly – the Doctor's incessant desire to explore the unknown. Unknown planets, unknown traditions… or, in this case, an unknown part of his own TARDIS.

The human smirked. "Are you sure there won't be any monsters waiting for us?"

"Fairly sure. She could not do this to us, not when she'd apparently brought you back to me… of course, one can never be entirely certain-"

The blonde rolled her eyes at him. "Will you open the door, or should I?"

"Please, go on," he encouraged her.

* * *

"Ah. Was this a part of the plan?" Rose could not help but burst out laughing at the sight in front of her. While she had only been in the Doctor's room a few times, for reasons usually including helping him find something in the mess he could sometimes make, particularly after having faced some of the most incredible species and having caused disarray in trying to find an item or two that were not, in fact, present in his endless pockets.

The Time Lord looked completely thunderstruck. "No. No. No! Not a plan, no. It hasn't even crossed my mind. Trust me, Rose!"

She peered at him. "I do. _Always_. Do you think we should return to them?"

"Do you want to?"

"No," Rose said, feeling almost guilty about it. Every trace of guilt was gone as soon as she met the Doctor's sparkling eyes.

"Neither do I," he admitted.

"Sounds unfair towards our friends," the Tyler girl noted, not really concerned. "You better make sure they get their party, yeah?"

"Absolutely," he muttered something in Gallifreyan to the ship, and grinned at Rose. "All settled. Safe and quick."

"We can always have a celebration of our own," he winked at her. "With cake, candles and music."

"Dancing?"

"Obviously! But first things first," he smirked at his companion, locking the door with his sonic screwdriver. "Where were we?"


End file.
